Recipe: Sheep Melt-in-Mouth German Cookies

Every year, I will receive suggestions from various people to make some desserts for CNY or bake some cookies. This year, I decided to try a new melt-in-mouth German cookies recipe from smallsmallbaker.blogspot.sg. It is so cute that I think no one can resist it!

Here's how it looks like:

Little Sheep Cookies Melts (or Melt-In-Your-Mouth) was made for this lunar new year! Wishing everyone a great year ahead! 新年快樂，羊年行大運！ #weecancook

A photo posted by Wee Liang (@jar.wee) on Feb 20, 2015 at 7:46am PST

I am glad that it has been pretty well received! Okay, maybe there are some comments that the cookies are a little dry or too soft, but I guess that is what Melt-in-Mouth cookies are. Right?

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Sheep Melt-in-Mouth German cookies

Prep time: 10-20 mins
Cook time: 15 mins (per tray)

Ingredients

• 125g butter, soften (room temperature)
• 40g icing sugar, sifted
• 125g potato starch, sifted
• 80g plain flour, sifted

For decorations

• Chocolate chips (for horn)
• Chocolate rice (for eyes)

Method:

1. Beat butter and icing sugar till fluffy and lighter in colour.
2. Sift in potato starch and plain flour, mix to form a soft dough. 
3. Divide the dough into two portions, wrap and chill for at least 15 minutes.
4. Roll the body of the sheep 8g each. Roll two smaller balls and place on the head (just estimate roughly same size or bigger than the chocolate chips). 
5. Press a line on each ball (I use back of knife). Place 2 chocolate chips as ears. Place two chocolate rice as eyes. 
6. Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 15 mins, upper rack (need not bake till cookies turn brown)
7. Leave the cookies to cool before removing them from the tray.

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Note:

1. The cookies are firm on the outside but very fragile, so handle with care.
2. Lightly hit the tray against the table before removing the cookies may be a good idea for most.

Game: Kim Kardashian: Hollywood

Recently, I have been playing Kim Kardashian: Hollywood on my iPhone. I used to play other Hollywood series in the past. It is a little different from the past. There is a ranking for couples and you can even get married! But I always have an issue that has me returning to Google for solutions. Unfortunately, many times, I was being brought to some sites which did not provide me with an answer. haha. It is time wasting!

If you are playing the game, do you have a problem remembering the locations of all the studios, pubs etc? This is especially when you start a job and you are not at the location before you quit the game to wait for energy to fill up again. Ok, maybe I am the only one. But it doesn't hurt to have a place listing all the locations, right?

P/S: I am still a pretty new player and there are many locations yet to be unlocked. Hence, I will probably be updating this list along the way. Thanks. Enjoy the game! =)

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LAX - California

Downtown LA
- duLUXE lifestyle apartments (First Home)
- Pop Glam
- So Chic

Beverly Hills
- Metropolitan Magazine
- Panino
- Kim Kardashian's place

Hollywood
- CTM Management & Publicity (Maria/Simon's office)
- Luna Condos (Home)
- Mirimount Pictures
- The Brew Palms

LAX
- Airport
- Championship Business Centers Inc.
- The West Inn Apartments
- Love & Hope Adoption Center (new)

Calabasas
- Kardash
- Home
- Locked location

Miami

- LIF

- Kardash Miami

- Home

Florence

- 10AX Club

- Il Forte

- Home

Las Vegas

- Chateau Nuit

- Glamm Magazine

- Miraggio Grande

Malibu

- PopGlam Malibu

- Tavrn Restaurant
- Kylie and Kendall's Home
- Beach House (Home)

Sydney

- Pop Glam Australia
- Ship Home
- The Black Rabbit

JFK - New York

SoHo

- Kardash

- Oak

- Muse Magazine

Tribeca

- Ganzervel

- Gates Towers

- Smith & Smith Luxury Lofts (Home)

The Hamptons
- So Chic Hamptons
- The Swan
- Kourtney's Home
- Home

Punta Mita

- El Canario

- Home

- Paraiso De Playa (Beach)

Paris

- Hotel Utopie (Home)
- La Rue
- Femme

London

- Club Tulip
- Home
- The Britannia Ballroom

Dubai

- Restaurant Asadaux
- Mall of Dubai
- The Alantean Hotel (Home)

Tokyo

- JBN: Japan Broadcasting Network
- Lavish Lounge Bar
- Unit 392 (Home)

New Delhi

- Raja Motion Pictures
- Grand Sultan Hotel

Milan

- Eleganza - Apartamenti Milano (Home)
- Cub Donatella

Recipe: Gingerbread Man

As mentioned in an earlier post, Gingerbread Man is something I always wanted to do but yet took such a long time before I get into the kitchen to start baking. I remember I always find the recipes rather 'unfriendly' as there are some ingredients that looks so alien to me.

Most gingerbread recipes usually contains an ingredient called 'molasses' which we do not usually have it at home. Hence, this always give me a reason (or excuse) for me to not get started. Determined to do it this year, I went online to find a recipe that is simple and can be easily made.

The recipe I found on mycookinghut.com is simple with ingredients that I can get from any supermarket locally. In fact, I managed  to baked at least 30-40 medium-size Gingerbread Man.

You will not believe how excited I am when I see (and taste) the final product. It is heartening that it received pretty good review from my friends and they wanted to try after seeing the photo I posted on Facebook.

Do note that the recipe may not be as hard/crunchy as a cookie as it is more like a gingerbread that is soft.

I can't decide which picture to post, so i decided to post all 4 here! :) Aren't they cute? This is my first try in making the Gingerbread Man! Getting ready for X*mas! #weecancook

A photo posted by Jaron Tng 唐偉亮 (@w33liang) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:41am PST

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Gingerbread Man

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened plus extra for greasing
100g brown sugar
125ml golden syrup
1 egg, separated
375g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g icing sugar
1-2 drops red food colouring
1-2 drops blue food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Lightly grease the baking tray(s) with melted butter.
2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk. Beat them well. 
3. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
4. Use an electric beater to beat the egg white until soft peaks form. 
5. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 
6. Divide icing among 3 bowls. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red and blue colourings to the remaining two bowls respectively. Store them in the fridge like the first bowl.
7. Take out the dough and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 2-3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.
8. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.
9. Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate.

Tips:

1. You may want to place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper so that it will not stick to the roller.
2. Put the remaining dough back to fridge after you have filled up the baking tray so that the dough remains manageable for cuts.
3. Replaced some brown sugar with white sugar if you like the final product to be slightly harder.

Recipe: Christmas Fruit Cake

Christmas is around the corner and I decided to do try out something that I always wanted but have not been doing (due to laziness). When I had a day on my own during a weekend, I decided to finally get things going! I bought the ingredients a day before to save some time.

I always wanted to make a Gingerbread Man and a Christmas Log cake. Although I did not managed to make a log cake yet, I managed to bake some really simple and cool Gingerbread Man, which I will talk about it and share the recipe in another post soon!

In the end, I happened to stumble over a Christmas Cherry Cake recipe which looks simple and good. I replace some of the ingredients and quantity for my liking and it appears that my parents love it alot!

Unfortunately, the cake was cut before I could turn it into a Christmas Cake. I shall make one more soon and will take a good picture of it to share! =)

Till then, enjoy the recipe =)

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Christmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients
200g caster sugar
225g butter (room temperature, cubes)
2 eggs
115ml orange juice
225g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g sultanas
300g dried mixed fruits
200g halved glace cherries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140 degree C. Grease a 23cm x 13cm (9 x 5 inch) loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper.
2. Cream butter or margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs and orange juice and mix well.
3. Sift flour and baking powder. 
4. Reserve 75g of flour mixture and toss with sultanas and cherries (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Add the rest to the mixture and blend. 
5. Then add floured raisins and cherries to dough and mix until just combined. 
6. Pour mixture into prepared tin.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 2 hours. 

Tips:

1. Reduce the sugar amount if you do not want it to be too sweet as the mixed fruits/sultanas/glace cherries are usually pretty sweet
2. The recipe was further adjusted as the original recipes turned out to be sweet and contains too much fruit mix to keep the cake together.
3. Temperature is lowered to have a lighter brown top layer.
4. Sprinkle icing sugar after the cake is totally cooled, which can take quite a while.

Recipe : Mango Cheesecake

It was the time of the year again where my mango-lover friend is celebrating her birthday! Hence, I decided to get into the kitchen and make the cheesecake the way she like.

Although I made the cheesecake last year, I misplaced the recipe. Hence, I have to start experimenting with a new recipe. For this recipe, I actually halved the quantity from what I found in a recipe book.

Still, I'm glad it works and remains likeable by my family and friends.

If you are mango lover or like to make desserts without using oven, give this recipe a try. Do share with me on how I can improve the recipe too! =)

Mango Cheesecake topped with cookie crumbs. Halved the proportion of a new recipe! 😘 #weecancook

A photo posted by Jaron Tng 唐偉亮 (@w33liang) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:45am PDT

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Mango Cheesecake

Base
110g Butter
200g Digestive Biscuits (Finely crushed)
50g Cornflakes, crushed (Optional)
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

Filling
250g Cream Cheese
60g Castor Sugar
230g + 50g Mango
2 tablespoons Gelatin
150ml Whipping Cream

Method

1. Prepare and sprinkle the gelatin over 3 tablespoons of water in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter and mixed it well with the sugar, digestive biscuits and cornflakes.
3. Press the base mixture evenly over a baking tin (or any containers you prepared). Leave it to cool inside a fridge.
4. Prepare the mango puree. Set aside.
5. Whipped the whipping cream and set aside.
6. Mix the cream cheese and castor sugar together till smooth.
7. Add in the mango puree and whipping cream. Mix well.
8. Melt the gelatin mixture over low heat till liquid state.
9. Add in the mixture bit by bit while continue to mix/blend with a mixer.
10. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and leave it to chill in the fridge over at least 3 hours or till set.

Tips:
- Gelatin is soaked in the water so that it is easier to manage when needed.
- I will heat the gelatin over a pot of water, like how we usually melt the chocolate.
- Usually, I will leave the cheesecake overnight to set.
- Noticed that there is no mango cubes in the recipe. This is because my friend don't like the mango fruits mixed inside. Feel free to add some to increase the texture.
- If you are using the mangoes that are not in season, it is likely that the mango is sour. Add some sugar to neutralise the sourness to your liking.

Recipe : Gula Melaka Sago

I fell in love with Gula Melaka Sago when I first tried it back in April 2012, during my trip to Malacca. It is a simple dish with three main ingredients - Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar), Coconut milk and Sago. I tell myself and my friends that I will want to make it when I return back to Singapore!

Took in 2012

The one we had was served differently as compared to others. Usually, the sago are served like a soup, like chendol or cheng ting. The one in Malacca was served like a 'kueh' submerged in the sweet syrup and coconut milk.

Though I did buy the ingredients last year, I ended up not making it due to my pure laziness. Now that I tried it, it was so simple, cheap and I definitely do not mind doing it again! =)
I did play around with the recipes but decided to post the recipe based on the original clip I saw on Youtube. I added sugar which belongs to another recipe from SBS . I like the sago to be slightly more chewy and less soft hence I rinsed thoroughly. Do try it out and enjoy!

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Gula Melaka Sago recipe

4 tablespoon sago
900ml water

200ml coconut milk
a pinch/dash of salt

2-3 pandan leaves (tied)
10g sugar
70g Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar)
2 tablespoon water

Cooking

1. Boil the water. Add in the sago and cook till the sago turn translucent.
2. Drain away the hot water and rinse the cooked sago under running water to wash away the starch.
3. Pour the sago into small containers and put in the fridge.
4. Heat the coconut milk till lightly thicken. Add a pinch/dash of salt for taste. Leave it aside to cool.
5. Chopped the Gula Melaka and melt it with the pandan leaves.
6. Serve the sago in the containers or removed the sago from the containers, onto a plate to serve.
7. Pour coconut milk and Gula Melaka over the sago.

Tips:
- May want to add pandan leaves (or flavoring) when cooking the sago for fragrance.
- Leave a little bit of starch if you prefer the sago to be softer.
- Salt in the coconut milk is to enhance the taste of the Gula Melaka.
- Add white sugar if Gula Melaka is not sweet enough.
- Do not cook the Gula Melaka for too long. You do not want it to be too thick or dried up.

Recipe: Apple Strudel

My friends recently went to Europe and visited a number of countries. Apart from the usual souvenirs that we usually received, I received post cards from them reminding me not to forget to work hard on my baking skills. They told me they are going to bring back recipes to me.

Ok, they went to strudel show but not making any notes. They just brought back the Original Wiener Strudelshow's recipe. Afraid that I will lose the recipe, I decided to type it here and post it. But I did not know that Cafe Restaurant Residenz is so gracious and post a short clip of the show online with the recipe that my friends got for me!

Hence, I decided to share their video and recipe here. If you are visiting Austria, don't forget to pay them a visit! =) I will prepare myself and get into the kitchen to try this recipe out!

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Original Viennese Apfelstrudel recipe

(i) Strudel dough

250g plain flour, 2g salt, 50g eggs, 100g lukewarm water, 20g oil.

Knead all the ingredients into a soft dough until the dough no longer sticks to the hands or table surface. Form the dough into a ball, brush with oil and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Then roll the dough out into a rectangular square on a floured cloth. Flatten the dough out very thinly by hand and brush with melted butter.

(ii) Buttered breadcrumbs

100g breadcrumbs, 50g butter.

Melt the butter in a heated pan, add the breadcrumbs and cook until golden brown.

(iii) Cinnamon sugar

140g fine crystal sugar, 10g cinnamon.

Mix the dry ingredients.

(iv) Filling

150g breadcrumbs, 150g cinnamon sugar, 170g raisins, 10g lemon juice, 1kg peeled-cored-sliced apples, one shot of rum.

Mix ingredients thoroughly.

Cooking

Spread the filling on the flattened-out dough rectangle, trim any uncovered edges of the dough, using the cloth as support, carefully roll up the dough. Cook on a buttered baking tray at 190 degrees centigrade until golden brown.

Tip:
Brush the strudel with butter after removing from the oven.

Recipe can be found on Cafe Restaurant Residenz